Can treatment wait until January?

[artful13dodger]

Greetings, I have my first ich outbreak in a 120G reef tank. The current inhabitants are:

1 powder brown tang
1 bicolor foxface
1 flame angel
1 swissguard basslet
1 yellowhead goby
1 purple firefish
2 ocellaris clowns
1 red mandarin
CUC inverts
SPS, LPS, softies

Unfortunately, my QT/HT is only 20G, so I can't hypo all at once before buying additional tanks.

Anyway, I will be leaving for two weeks for Christmas and have someone watching the tank. Can I wait to begin treatment until January? Or will it be too late?

I'm guessing all fish will have to live in HTs for two months to cure the DT, with hypo + very low copper for the flame angel and mandarin, and low copper for the rest (since they'll be there two months, can treat lower dose for longer time). Also, can I treat the mandarin in my old 5G betta tank, or too small?

Thanks all.

 

[ThaBeast]

No you can not wait until January to take care of your fish!

Trying not to be offensive....guess it is time to log off!

 

[MrTuskfish]

I'm afraid you may come home to nothing but a mandarin. There is no point in removing just a few fish at a time. ALL of the fish need to be out and the DT left fishless for 8+ weeks.
Re: copper. A lower dose for a longer time doesn't do anything. Long-time exposure to copper isn't what kills ich, the copper level is. Don't ever use hypo and copper at the same time. I'd defiantly use Hypo on the Flame; I know little about treating mandarins, someone will know, though.
I wish I had something to help. Very healthy fish may fight ich off for a while, but you're really taking a gamble. If you leave with ich in your tank, be sure your tank-sitter can remove dead fish and get a decent QT for yourself at Christmas. Use it on all new livestock and never worry about this nightmare again.

 

[artful13dodger]

No you can not wait until January to take care of your fish!

Trying not to be offensive....guess it is time to log off!

I can't cancel a $500 flight either.

If the answer is no, it's no. I'm not searching for what I want to hear. But if there's measures to manage and minimize the problem for three weeks before aggressive treatment can begin, I'd appreciate such advice not being yelled at me with exclamations. If there's not, then I'll have to examine my other options.

I'm here seeking advice on how to "to take care of [my] fish!"

 

[artful13dodger]

I'm afraid you may come home to nothing but a mandarin. There is no point in removing just a few fish at a time. ALL of the fish need to be out and the DT left fishless for 8+ weeks.
Re: copper. A lower dose for a longer time doesn't do anything. Long-time exposure to copper isn't what kills ich, the copper level is. Don't ever use hypo and copper at the same time. I'd defiantly use Hypo on the Flame; I know little about treating mandarins, someone will know, though.
I wish I had something to help. Very healthy fish may fight ich off for a while, but you're really taking a gamble. If you leave with ich in your tank, be sure your tank-sitter can remove dead fish and get a decent QT for yourself at Christmas. Use it on all new livestock and never worry about this nightmare again.

Thanks. That is what I was worried about. I'll start looking for extra tanks and may have to pay a knowledgeable tank sitter who understands the treatment (instead of just having my roommate feed while I'm gone).

 

[MrTuskfish]

Thanks. That is what I was worried about. I'll start looking for extra tanks and may have to pay a knowledgeable tank sitter who understands the treatment (instead of just having my roommate feed while I'm gone).

Treating fish for ich is really fairly easy, but there are a lot of little things that basic instructions just don't cover. Its a tough call; if you leave them, while being treated, with someone who has no basic knowledge or access to help; it could be a disaster. So could waiting. If you decide to wait; feed the fish as much good stuff as they'll eat, add Selcon (or a similar vitamin) to their food, and a lot of folks swear by garlic as an immune system booster. Make sure water is as near perfect as it can be. Of course, the comment above about getting dead fish is always standard info for any fish-sitter.
Finding someone to leave your fish isn't easy; I'm lucky to have a great one.

We're gone a lot and I never worry. We leave soon to see the Packers win again; which has nothing to do with this thread....just nice to say, 18 games in a row.

 

[artful13dodger]

Treating fish for ich is really fairly easy, but there are a lot of little things that basic instructions just don't cover. Its a tough call; if you leave them, while being treated, with someone who has no basic knowledge or access to help; it could be a disaster. So could waiting. If you decide to wait; feed the fish as much good stuff as they'll eat, add Selcon (or a similar vitamin) to their food, and a lot of folks swear by garlic as an immune system booster. Make sure water is as near perfect as it can be. Of course, the comment above about getting dead fish is always standard info for any fish-sitter.
Finding someone to leave your fish isn't easy; I'm lucky to have a great one.

We're gone a lot and I never worry. We leave soon to see the Packers win again; which has nothing to do with this thread....just nice to say, 18 games in a row.

Yeah, that's kind of what I was wondering... read a few things re: the garlic/vitamins/other "half-measures" that may help but won't cure the problem just to buy a little time. Didn't know how long they'd keep back the floodwater so to speak.

I was also debating just moving the corals and CUC (still little enough of both to do) to the 20G hospital and running the DT on hypo, as opposed to running multiple hospital tanks on hypo (i only have one ATO system, so would be easier to manage salinity this way as well). Any problems with this solution?

Big Steeler fan here, hoping for a rematch, though your team definitely looking like better chances to get there than mine (good chance for both though).

 

[MrTuskfish]

Hypo can be done in a DT; I've never done it (and never would, unless it was the only option). Hypo, in any tank, has no room for error. SG must always be 1.008-1.009. You're right about the ATO being almost vital, so is a perfectly calibrated hydrometer. The problem with hypo in a DT is that it will kill most of the bacteria and micro-life in the LR & substrate. It won't usually destroy the bio-filter, but will do some damage. All this die-off can lead to ammonia problems and you can expect a lot of WCs; although an ammoinia neutralizer (like Prime, Amquel) can help. Fish need to be kept under hypo conditions for a bare minimum of 4 weeks.

On the serious stuff: A Packer-Steeler Superbowl is very possible, IMO. Same result as last year though. I had my doubts a few weeks ago, but I'm convinced the Pack goes undefeated this year. Not only is Rogers the best QB on the planet; they are extremely well coached and don't make big mistakes. The close game and last minute drive against the Giants last week, are just what they needed. Good luck, my son is waving that we're ready-----he's getting to be a better pilot than either my GF or me.